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Do Volatile Anesthetics Act as Ideal Gases?

E. I. Eger, II, MD^*, and B. H. Johnson, AB

*Professor of Anesthesia and Vice Chairman for Research. Department of Anesthesia, H1386-HSE, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143. Staff Research Associate. Department of Anesthesia, H1386-HSE, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143.

Abstract

Under conditions of temperature and pressure commonly found in operating rooms, the anesthetics enflurane, halothane, and isoflurane act as nearly ideal gasses even at concentrations producing a saturated vapor phase. The deviations from ideality are 3.44 ± 0.44% (SEM) for enflurane, 0.94 ± 0.30% for halothane, and 2.96 ± 0.29% for isoflurane. That is, 0.9 to 3.4% more anesthetic is vaporized than would be predicted from the vapor pressure of these agents.

Key Words: EQUIPMENT, Vaporizers • PHYSICS: vapor pressures • ANESTHETICS, Volatile: halothane • ANESTHETICS, Volatile: enflurane • ANESTHETICS, Volatile: isoflurane

Anesthesia & Analgesia® is published for the International Anesthesia Research Society® by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins with the assistance of Stanford University Libraries' HighWire Press®. Copyright 2006 by the International Anesthesia Research Society. Online ISSN: 1526-7598   Print ISSN: 0003-2999